title: Serum albumins-unusual allergens.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Albumins are multifunctional proteins present in the blood serum of animals. They can bind and transport a wide variety of ligands which they accommodate due to their conformational flexibility. Serum albumins are highly conserved both in amino acid sequence and three-dimensional structure. Several mammalian and avian serum albumins (SAs) are also allergens. Sensitization to one of the SAs coupled with the high degree of conservation between SAs may result in cross-reactive antibodies in allergic individuals. Sensitivity to SA generally begins with exposure to an aeroallergen, which can then lead to cross-sensitization to serum albumins present in food.
  
  
  METHODS
  This review focuses on the allergenicity of SAs presented in a structural context.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SA allergenicity is unusual taking into account the high sequence identity and similarity between SA from different species and human serum albumin. Cross-reactivity of human antibodies towards different SAs is one of the most important characteristics of these allergens.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Establishing a relationship between sequence and structure of different SAs and their interactions with antibodies is crucial for understanding the mechanisms of cross-sensitization of atopic individuals. Structural information can also lead to better design and production of recombinant SAs to replace natural proteins in allergy testing and desensitization. Therefore, structural analyses are important for diagnostic and treatment purposes. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Serum Albumin.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, 631 Sumter Street, Columbia, SC 29208, USA. Electronic address: chruszcz@mailbox.sc.edu.
authors.forename: Maksymilian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chruszcz
authors.forename: Katarzyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mikolajczak
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mank
authors.forename: Karolina A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Majorek
authors.forename: Przemyslaw J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Porebski
authors.forename: Wladek
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Minor
mesh_terms: D000485:Allergens / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D003429:Cross Reactions; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000209:etiology; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens; D012709:Serum Albumin
keywords: Allergen; Antibody; BSA; Cross-reactive; Cross-sensitization; FSA; HSA; IgE; IgG; MMR; MMRV; PSA; SA; Serum albumin; bovine serum albumin; feline serum albumin; human serum albumin; immunoglobulin E; immunoglobulin G; measles–mumps–rubella; measles–mumps–rubella–varicella; porcine serum albumin; serum albumin